


Submersion

by BenSoloUnmasked



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Feelings Realization, First Kiss, Fluff, In Her Defence He Does Wear Little Black Swimmers, Post-Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Redeemed Ben Solo, Resistance Member Ben Solo, Rey Laughs At Ben A Lot, Reylo - Freeform, Saving A Life & Kissing Are The Same Thing Right, Swim Instructor Ben Solo, The Force Ships It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-13
Updated: 2018-03-13
Packaged: 2019-03-30 19:31:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13958460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BenSoloUnmasked/pseuds/BenSoloUnmasked
Summary: Rey and Ben spend a lot of time together now that he’s defected to the Resistance and come home. Ben takes things as they come, until he finds out that Rey’s never gone swimming. This is an injustice that just won’t stand; he’s taking her to the lake and getting her in that water whether she likes it or not. If it turns out to be their first date, so be it.Reylo one-shot, in which Ben is a lousy teacher and Rey finally sees what’s been in front of her the whole time.





	Submersion

‘Come on, it’s just water. It’s not going to kill you.’

Rey furrowed her brow.

‘In case you’ve forgotten, Ben, I grew up on Jakku. I haven’t spent a lot of time around lakes.’

Ben smiled and put his satchel down on the bank of the lake, shaking his head.

‘How could I ever forget, desert girl?’

Rey scowled. ‘I hate it when you call me that.’

‘Well, I’m going to start calling you desert _baby_ if you don’t get into the water.’

Her scowl deepened. His words had successfully baited her.

‘It’s better than “scavenger scum”, at least.’

Ben’s smile faltered a little, his eyes darkening for a moment. Rey regretted her words immediately.

Ever since Ben Solo had defected to the Resistance, things had been complicated. Even General Organa, who had wanted so badly to welcome her son with open arms, had forced herself to react with restraint and hesitance. His ingratiation had been painstakingly – but necessarily – slow. Over time, Ben had proven himself to be a valuable source of information, assisting them enthusiastically.

Rey had come to trust him first. She explained the Force bond to the rest of the Resistance, asking them to temper their scepticism. He had done bad things, she reasoned, very bad things – but she had known the light would bring him to them eventually, and nothing was to be gained by cynicism. The others had agreed to let him stay, under close supervision and often lock and key.

Of all people, Poe had come around next. He prided himself on his ability to read people, and after a month of shooting Ben distrustful glances and second-guessing his advisement, his attitude had changed. Ben had apologised profusely from the outset for torturing Poe for information in the past, and eventually his honesty had made a difference. Poe had even flown with him a few times now, clapping him on the back after successful aerial dogfights.

Finn had understandably taken the longest, his memories of living under the thumb of the First Order still fresh. His hostility had eventually turned to icy indifference, and though friendship was still a long way off, the two were now on speaking terms at the very least.

He had been accepted by everyone in the Resistance, after a time. The real surprise, he found, was that the hardest struggle for acceptance was within.

Doubt presented itself in little moments, offhand comments, unwelcome memories. His mind would stray, pondering his past and how he could hope to build a future. It was in those moments, characterised by a distant gaze and a twitching frown, that Rey would help him find his way back.

‘Ben,’ she said quietly, and his head snapped to attention. ‘Ben, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring that up, everything is fine. Tell me more about swimming.’

‘Well,’ Ben started shakily, taking a breath and relaxing enough to raise his eyebrows and push his hair out of his face, ‘First you want to get into some swim-appropriate attire.’

Rey looked at him like he was speaking another language. She gestured to her outfit. ‘What’s wrong with this?’

He chuckled. Even after so long out of the desert, she still often favoured wrappings to robes, long strands of material hanging over her singlet, crossing her chest and dangling towards her feet.

‘That’s going to get heavy when it gets wet,’ he explained. ‘It won’t be fun.’

Rey shrugged, crossing her arms. ‘What are you wearing then?’ she asked, looking him up and down.

Ben rolled his eyes and began to undress, his heavy black tunic falling hard to the ground. Rey covered her hand with her mouth as he unfastened his belt and pulled off his pants, revealing a pair of tight black swimming pants. Her smirk turned into a chuckle, which quickly escalated into full-blown laughter. He stood awkwardly on the bank of the lake, his hands curling into self-conscious fists.

‘Stop laughing!’ he hissed, but there was no backbone of fury in his voice. ‘That outfit is heavy enough without getting sodden in this lake. If you’re so eager to see me drown…’

‘I’m not,’ Rey giggled, walking over to him. ‘I just can’t stop thinking about Kylo Ren commanding the First Order with those tiny things on under all that black clothing.’

‘I don’t wear them all the time! They’re especially for swimming.’

‘Don’t be embarrassed,’ she said, smirking as he brought a hand across his chest as if to cover himself. ‘I’ve seen it before, remember?’

She thinks back to their uncomfortable Force bond session when she was on Ahch-To. She can tell he’s thinking of it too; the tips of his ears are turning scarlet with the memory.

‘I’m not embarrassed.’

‘Whatever you say.’

Ben rolled his eyes, his lips curving upwards against his will. ‘Okay,’ he said, pointing at the lake. ‘In.’

Rey’s smile faded a little. ‘Um… I think you should get in first.’

‘You’re probably right,’ he agreed, reminding himself that he was meant to be teaching her. ‘Allow me a moment.’

He swung his arms back and forth a couple of times, stretching them, before striding quickly and confidently into the lake. He splashed through the still water, droplets flying everywhere, before leaping forward and diving underwater, submerging himself. He resurfaced a few seconds later, shaking beads of water from the thick mop of his hair. Rey would have found the whole thing comical if he hadn’t managed it with surprising grace despite his gangly form.

‘Alright,’ he said, slicking the hair off his face and moving back towards the bank. ‘Your turn. Take your time.’

Rey took a breath and walked slowly into the water, apprehensive.

‘It’s freezing!’ she cried, hugging her arms to her chest even though she was only waist-deep.

‘It’s not that bad, you’re just not used to it.’

‘And what exactly are you suggesting?’ she asked, incredulous.

Rey bathed, of course. Ben knew this. But there was a big difference between the steady trickle of water from the shower in a Resistance base refresher and an open body of water. Back on Jakku, even refreshers were something of a rarity; a luxury that she’d rarely had the chance to avail herself of.

For all the new experiences she’d had since she had boarded the Millennium Falcon and left that planet that had become her prison, swimming was not one of them – a fact she had explained casually to the Resistance during a conversation about tactics to disrupt a beachside First Order centre of operations. She’d managed to claw her way out of the lagoon in the cave back on Ahch-To, of course, but that had been different, all animal instinct – surely her connection to the Force had helped her paddle her way out, she had reasoned.

Poe had laughed. ‘We’ve gotta teach you to swim,’ he’d said, shaking his head with amusement. Finn had nodded in agreement, and moved to continue the conversation.

‘You can’t _swim_?’ Ben had piped up, from across the table. He’d not long been allowed in their tactical meetings, and still tended only to speak when spoken to. He preferred to bear silent witness for the most part, opting not to push his luck.

‘That’s what I just said, Ben,’ Rey replied curtly, embarrassed by her lack of a skill that everyone else seemed to innately possess.

Everyone looked at Ben. His eyebrows were lifted in shock, but his lips were thin and deadly serious.

‘She grew up in the desert,’ Finn said, eyes narrowed. ‘Not all of us had a picture perfect upbringing. Not all of us had an upbringing at _all_.’

The swipe at the Stormtrooper program threw Ben for a moment, but only a moment – it was warranted, after all. His thoughts returned to Rey, and endless dry sand, and that how sad it was that she’d never felt beach waves crashing over her head.

‘I just… I can’t believe it,’ he said simply, sitting back in his chair.

‘I never thought you’d be such an avid swimmer,’ Poe said in surprise, eyes focused on Ben’s pale skin. ‘I always thought you were more of an indoor kind of guy. The First Order doesn’t exactly encourage tanning, does it?’

Ben thought of Hux and scowled. If the man were still alive, and Ben was certain that he was, then he’d certainly be feeling a cold shiver right now. In the past, Ben had often privately likened him to a ghost. Here, amongst the Resistance, the comparisons were said out loud, and were nowhere near as kind.

‘Not exactly,’ Ben replied. ‘Hux saw to it that leisure was never high on our list of priorities, the humourless lout.’

‘At least you were spared seeing his bare chest,’ Pose mused. ‘The sight of it probably would have blinded you. Permanently. Imagine that being the last thing you see… What a bleak future.’

Finn looked at Poe’s animated expression of disgust and laughed.

‘Until I joined you all here, hadn’t gone for a swim in years,’ Ben confessed, looking at his mother and then away immediately. ‘Not since…’

General Organa grimaced, her mind going to the same place as her son’s. Ben closed his eyes. Late afternoon, long shadows stretching over a river, during a family holiday on Endor before his training with Luke had begun in earnest. His parents so very much in love, content in embracing each other and watching him dive from rocks. He paddled carefree, no idea of the troubles that awaited him under his uncle’s tutelage.

He had held that memory close to him, in the past trying to banish it and surrender to the dark, but coming back to it again and again with a longing that frightened him. Now that he had returned to the light, the memory stung; his father’s absence as obvious as ever.

‘Ben?’ Rey murmured tentatively, reaching out to him across the table. ‘Are you alright?’

‘I’m fine,’ Ben replied dreamily, opening his eyes and pulling himself back. 

‘Are you sure?’

‘Quite sure,’ Ben replied. His voice was calm but his eyes sparkled with mischief. ‘In any case, I’ll be better when I teach you how to swim.’

Rey had laughed at the time, thinking it an empty threat or a joke, but it was all too real at this moment, with the water lapping at her hips.

‘I’m not suggesting anything,’ Ben said, bringing her back to their present conversation. ‘Just that you should be more open to new experiences.’

‘Well I’m open and I’m trying it and it’s not very nice,’ Rey said, shivering. ‘I don’t understand what the big deal is.’

Ben rolled his eyes and swam over to her. She took a step back, concerned that he might splash her or try to drag her under, and he stopped, putting his feet on the bed of the lake and standing.

‘I would never make you do anything that you don’t want to do, Rey,’ he said, assuaging her fears with that quiet, honest voice she was powerless to resist. ‘If you want to get out and dry off, you can. I won’t bring it up again.’

Rey shook her head and brought her hands to her sides, trailing her fingers through the water. ‘I know, Ben,’ she said, looking down at the ripples. ‘Give me a minute and I’m sure I’ll warm up a bit. I trust you.’

Ben sank down into the water again, wetting his hair and pushing off the bottom of the lake to start floating on his back. ‘You trust me, huh?’ he murmured, a smile curving the side of his mouth. ‘Can’t imagine why.’

‘You know how crazy they thought I was when I first begged them to let you stay?’ Rey said after a moment, taking a few steps further, the water rising to just below her chest. ‘When I explained the Force bond, and told them I had absolute faith in you… Even your mother wanted my head examined. And now…’

‘Now here we are,’ Ben finished her sentence for her, spreading his arms so they floated either side of him. ‘Can you believe it?’

Rey smiled. She was in up to her shoulders now, the cool waters of the lake soaking through her clothes. ‘Yes, I can. I always knew we’d get here.’

Ben looked up at the sky. ‘You’ve always been smarter than me. Stubborn, but smart.’

‘If I’m so stubborn, why am I still in the water?’

‘Because you’re not one to admit defeat. Ever.’

‘True,’ Rey conceded. ‘But I still don’t see what the fuss is.’

Ben thought on this for a moment. ‘Swimming is… freedom,’ he said, his words carefully chosen. ‘To me, anyway. You’re suspended, unrestricted. All you have to do is float and your troubles melt away. I’ve been coming to this lake a lot since I arrived here.’

‘Sounds wonderful.’

‘When I’m in the water, that’s when I feel closest to the Force,’ Ben admitted, hesitant. ‘It’s the closest I’ve felt since our Force bond sessions back when you were on Ahch-To.’ 

‘Oh,’ Rey responded, looking around the lake. ‘So… That’s why you wanted to show me?’

‘I think so.’

Rey didn’t respond straight away, letting the silence speak to her gratitude that he had confided in her. ‘Thank you for bringing me here.’

‘I wanted to bring you here since I first discovered it,’ he confessed, rolling over in the water so he had his back to the sun, meeting her eyes with characteristic intensity. ‘It’s so beautiful. I just… didn’t have an excuse until now.’

Rey’s breath caught in her throat and she looked at him, stunned. His eyes flashed with anxiety, an obvious fear that he had said too much. Rey didn’t know what to say.

‘It _is_ beautiful here,’ she said eventually, twirling her hands through the water. ‘Very serene.’

‘It reminds me of where Luke used to take us to practice meditation,’ Ben said. ‘Not in the water, of course. But it’s so still, so quiet. Makes me feel like a student again.’

Ben didn’t mention his training with Luke often. Through their many heart-to-hearts, Rey had talked Ben around to forgiving Luke; though the pain of that night and other moments of anger and fear in the academy never really left him. Rey always followed his lead – if he wanted to talk about it, she was happy to oblige, but she would never steer the conversation there herself.

‘Well, I’m the student today,’ Rey said, gesturing to herself with an exaggerated movement of her hand. ‘And I think it’s time that you did some teaching, Master Solo.’

His face breaking into a grin, Ben stood again, bringing himself up to his full height. ‘Alright, lets begin. First rule. Don’t be afraid of the water.’

‘Okay.’

‘But… Be a little afraid of it. Because it is dangerous when you can’t swim. So don’t be too afraid but just… keep it in mind.’

‘Ben…’ Rey started, shaking her head. He had the tendency to get caught up in his thoughts and ideas like this, not used to having the freedom to speak his mind without retribution. His years serving under Snoke had left him with a tendency to think rather than speak – a habit that he was slowly coming out of, to varying degrees of success.

‘I know, I know,’ Ben said, putting up his hands. ‘I need to pick a thought and stick with it.’

‘The thought that I’m getting is that I should approach this with healthy caution,’ Rey offered. ‘Is that what you were getting at?’

Ben nodded, looking around. ‘Actually, I brought something along to help you,’ he said. ‘It’s in my satchel, hang on.’

He splashed his way back to the edge of the lake, where he’d left his things. He knelt down and rummaged through his satchel, removing and unfolding a flat ring. He pressed a button and it began to fill slowly with air.

A flotation device, Rey realised. She smirked. She really was starting at square one.

The water was nice now that she was used to it, she conceded to herself. Her arms felt buoyant by her side, almost weightless. She lowered herself until the water lapped at her chin, and fought the urge put her head under entirely. Where she had previously felt on the verge of freezing, now she felt almost warm; comfortable with the tepid freshness of the water on her skin. She understood what he had meant about her clothes; her body movements were delayed, the material completely soaked through to the point of restrictive heaviness.

She cast her eyes over to where Ben was kneeling on the shore, still waiting for the ring to be fully filled with air. She could see him bouncing his foot a little in anticipation; he was eager. She smiled to herself at the thought of his excitement.

Of course he’d wanted to bring her here. Of course this meant a lot to him. If he felt the Force most strongly here, then it all made sense. She could feel it too, now that she was letting herself relax.

Tranquility, stillness, vibrancy. A beautiful spot indeed.

Again, she fended off the urge to put her head underwater. Not too soon, not until she knew what she was doing, she rationalised. But the water was inviting as ever, and she could still stand where she was – where was the danger if she could still stand? Any problems and she would get to her feet.

People often called her fearless. She knew this was far from the truth, and told them this more times than she could count, but sometimes… Sometimes it helped to let herself believe it for even a few moments. In the heat of battle, she frequently drew on her own publicity, the version of herself that the Resistance used in their propaganda. Nothing bad could ever happen to _that_ Rey. Reality and fiction existed together inside her and when she intertwined them, courage came easily.

Fear was something she worked to leave no time for in her life. Even today. Even in something as simple as this.

She looked back over at Ben for a moment, before making sure her feet were planted perfectly flat-footed beneath her. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes.

Rey let her legs shift out from beneath her, into an approximation of a cross-legged sitting position as though preparing to meditate. As she slipped underneath the surface and began to sink, she smiled.

A slow exhale pulled bubbles of air from her lips and she opened her eyes instinctively to watch them float upwards. She was surprised that her eyesight wasn’t entirely impaired underwater; the soft muted hues of sunlight streaming from above danced in front of her eyes like fireflies.

More air left her lips and she came to a seated position on the bottom of the lake. So, this was submersion.

She loved it.

The water had covered every inch of her, and the sensation of her hair lifting loosely away from her scalp was almost pleasant enough to alarm her. It was so quiet down in that place. Nothing could touch her, not while she lived on the bottom of the lake, not while she felt as though suspended between galaxies.

She tightened her lips, determined not to let any more air out. The more she lost, the sooner she’d have to come up and end this perfect moment. Forever stretched on in front of her and she thought of the cave on Ahch-To for a moment – only a moment – before feeling something warm nestle in the pit of her stomach. The opposite of what she’d felt in the cave.

Home.

Her eyes focused on the middle distance. No repeated images of herself, no mirror reflecting her own insecurities back, no sense of dread. Instead the waters of the lake revealed people. Finn and Poe, her good friends. General Organa, who often felt like a mother to her. Chewbacca, her co-pilot and confidant. Even Luke – though he was gone, she felt his presence warm her every day. Everyone she loved.

And there was Ben.

His presence in this vision didn’t surprise her. The Force had connected them, and over time they had formed a strong bond. He had every right to be amongst the others. He had proven himself a trustworthy friend.

But there was a difference in this feeling. Her heart reached out to him above the others, needing to anchor him there. His words about feeling the most in tune with the Force in this place echoed in her head and she wondered if he had similar visions here, if he felt the same way, still does.

_Feels what way?_ Rey asked herself.

She knew the answer, but she consciously pushed it away. It was like the truth of her parents all over again – she always found it hard to face something she didn’t understand.

She certainly didn’t understand the way she felt.

Friendship should be hard enough, given their past. She had no idea how things had escalated to the point where she was considering what the next level up from that was.

She blinked, and insight flashed through her like a bolt of lightning.

It was the sideways glances, she realised. Those should have been the first clue. He couldn’t keep his eyes off her half the time. Then there was the conversation; his sincere intention to get to know her. The little smiles, the way he often tried to time his meals alongside her – it was all there.

And her responses… catching his eye and smiling. Making fun of him in that mocking tone she hoped he knew to be gentle. Always looking around at mealtimes to see if he was around, and being comforted by her certainty that he would be. Soothing him when memories of his past threatened to drag him somewhere dark.

She couldn’t believe it took the act of forcing herself underwater to realise.

Ben Solo had feelings for her. And she felt them right back.

His face shimmered before her eyes for a long moment in the waters of the lake, his features softened by her imagination. She grinned, more air escaping from between her teeth. 

Through true peace, she had achieved a chaotic clarity. The Force, as always, had a strange sense of humour.

She felt movement, frantic thrashing coming towards her. Her vision of Ben’s face faded quickly, wrenched from her as the sensation of nearby activity startled her.

Large hands met her shoulders, sliding down roughly to grasp her armpits. She was tugged forcefully up and out of the water, her eyes stinging with the sudden re-exposure to bright daylight. She gasped as she broke the surface – more out of shock than anything – and her grateful lungs sucked in oxygen greedily.

She was being dragged through the water now, the strong hands still hooked under her arms. She coughed as her head dipped underwater for a moment, unwillingly forced to take in water as she tried to catch her breath.

‘Hey…’ she choked out in a splutter, but that was all she could manage before being lifted up and heaved onto the bank of the lake, her body thrown down with agitated panic.

Ben knelt over her, his face close to hers, alarm in his eyes. 

‘Rey?’ he asked, his voice hitting a strangled pitch. ‘Rey, can you hear me? What could have possessed you to go under?’

She realised that he had been talking to her all along, asking frantic questions as he’d pulled her from the lake. She coughed again, not registering the need for a response, her thoughts far-off.

Ben shook his head, looking down at her with dread. Without warning, he took a deep breath and leaned in, sealing his lips to hers. He blew air into her lungs with such energy that her chest heaved upwards with the suddenness of it. Air was forced from her nose – in his haste, he had failed to remember to pinch it shut – and she had no choice but to turn her face away from his, breaking their contact.

A barking noise erupted from her mouth, accompanied by wheezes and the heaving of her body. Ben seized her shoulders in alarm before realising what was truly happening: she was laughing hysterically.

‘You thought I was drowning?’ she gasped through giggles. ‘My eyes were open, I was clearly breathing, and yet you still thought it was necessary to try and revive me?’

Frustration at being mocked flashed across his face, but mostly his expression betrayed his relief. ‘I was worried,’ he mumbled. ‘One moment you were there and the next you were under. I thought you were in trouble.’

Exhausted, he sat down next to her, breathing heavily. Rey’s laughter began to die down and she looked at him with a smile.

‘What?’ he asked.

‘You know, back on Starkiller, when you said I needed a teacher?’ Rey asked, panting and pushing the hair from her forehead.

‘Yeah?’

‘Well… I think my teacher needs a teacher.’

Ben grimaced. ‘I think you might be right,’ he conceded, but his tone was light. ‘And well, at least if there had been a problem, I was quick on my feet.’

‘Your feet? You could have used the Force,’ she said, propping herself up on her elbows and looking at him with disbelief.

He looked at her, cocking his head to the side in confusion.

‘If you were worried,’ she explained. ‘It would have been quicker, easier. You could have used the Force to pull me out, to resuscitate me.’

Ben stared at her for a moment, dumbfounded.

‘It honestly didn’t occur to me,’ he replied, simply. ‘I just… I knew I had to get to you.’

A muted smile spread across Rey’s face.

‘Well, you didn’t,’ she said. ‘I’m fine.’

Ben cast his eyes out towards the lake, huffing out a breath. ‘I couldn’t take that chance,’ he admitted.

Rey watched him and smiled. His eyes were far-off again, going to a dark place, imagining the worst.

‘Ben,’ she said quietly. ‘Look at me.’

As always, the simple act of speaking his name brought him back to her, grounding himself in her presence.

‘When I was under, I saw something,’ she told him, unable to keep it in any longer. ‘I had a vision.’

Ben was silent for a moment, his expression imperceptible, his eyes hungering for more information. ‘What did it show you?’

Rey grinned, sitting up in earnest. ‘Something that’s been right in front of my eyes for a while now.’

‘I don’t…’ Ben started, confused, but the words stopped dead in his throat as Rey placed her hand over his.

‘You know, for a while, when we were running, I thought that the Jedi Killer would be the death of me,’ she said. ‘I never imagined the opposite. I never thought the Jedi Killer would be _saving_ my life. I never thought I’d want him to.’

‘Rey…’ Ben murmured, at a loss of what else to say. Her hand sat heavy on his, exuding warmth despite having just come from the cool waters of the lake. Her touch was almost more than he could bear, stirring the emotions inside him into a crescendo.

‘Being stubborn has kept me busy, but it’s kept me blind, too,’ Rey continued. ‘I’m new to friendship, and… and everything beyond it.’

She grasped his hand now, and looked into his eyes.

‘I’m sorry it took me so long to understand how you feel towards me,’ she said, earnestly. ‘I had to literally hold my breath and take a second to see it. I’m sorry.’

Ben shook his head. ‘You have nothing to be sorry about.’

The pair sat still for a time, comfortable on the soft earth of the bank of the lake, water dripping from their hair and their clothes. They stared out across the lake, listening to distant birdsong.

‘Ben,’ Rey said eventually, bringing her eyes down to the ground before her.  
‘I have a question.’

‘By all means, ask,’ Ben replied, looking at her studiously, twitching his fingers slightly to make sure they still had feeling within her hold.

‘What’s something you’ve never done?’

He mused on this. ‘I’m not sure. Why?’

Rey smiled, mischievous. ‘Well, I thought it might be fun for me to teach you something next. You know, for our second date.’

‘This was a date?’

‘You brought me somewhere scenic, we talked, we laughed, you laid me down and kissed me—’

‘Excuse me,’ Ben interrupted, his cheeks flushing red. ‘I gave you _mouth to mouth_. That is a life-saving procedure!’

Rey laughed. ‘Well, whether you meant it to be or not, I have to tell you: this was a date, Ben. And even though I’ve never been on one before I think I can safely say that it didn’t exactly go by the book. So I think I’ll plan the next one.’

Ben moved his hand out from under hers to rub his chin, overwhelmed. ‘You… You want to have a second date?’ he asked quietly, seriously.

‘Don’t you?’ she replied, her eyes shimmering with anticipation.

‘More than anything.’

Rey leaned over and planted her lips on his, imparting a kiss that was somehow gentle and forceful all at once. She pressed into him and planted her hand on his chest, her palm coming into contact with the scar she had given him in the snow. Their sudden connection had his skin feeling delicate, sensitive; the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. Her tongue met his and finally he recovered his nerve, kissing her back with the very passion for her that he’d been fighting to hold in for what felt like an eternity.

It was some time before the two broke apart. Ben looked at her and smiled. Rey shrugged.

‘Sorry,’ she said, an impish smirk crossing her face. ‘I thought you were drowning. Couldn’t take the chance, had to breath some life back into you.’

Ben’s smile transformed into a toothy grin, and to Rey’s surprise a chuckle escaped him. ‘Stop it,’ he said, shaking his head and exhaling mirthfully. ‘Stop making fun of me.’

‘I’m sorry.’

‘No you’re not.’

‘You’re probably right.’

‘So what now?’

‘Now, you teach me properly.’

‘You _still_ want me to try and teach you to swim?’

‘I would expect you to finish what you start. After all, you are Ben Solo, forgetful Force user and master of the lake. You have a title to uphold.’

‘Rey from Jakku… No, Rey of the water. Taker of the premature plunge. My most loyal student.’

‘I’m your only student.’

‘Irrelevant,’ Ben dismissed her statement with a wave of his hand. ‘You’ve earned that title fair and square.’

‘Can we just get started?’

‘I don’t know,’ Ben said, rolling his eyes. ‘Can I trust you to listen to me this time? Will you keep your head above water?’

Rey smiled, but it was that soft curve of her lips that she reserved for true happiness, inner calm.

‘For the first time in years, I don’t feel like I’m thrashing to the surface,’ she said, staring at the sky. ‘For the first time, I feel _safe_.’

Ben took her hand and squeezed. She leaned into him, breathing in his scent. ‘Me too,’ he whispered. She squeezed his hand in kind and let go, standing up and striding towards the water before turning back to say something.

‘But just in case, I think you need to be ready to resuscitate me. You know, if I, uh, _accidentally_ go for another dive.’

‘Something tells me you won’t be able to help yourself,’ Ben grinned, getting to his feet and grabbing the forgotten flotation ring before following her into the water. ‘You’re a lousy student, desert girl.’

‘And you’re a lousy teacher, space boy.’

‘We were made for each other, then.’

Rey’s mouth quirked into an affectionate smile. He was certainly right about that.

She didn’t need to go under again to know it – but she might. Just for fun.


End file.
